January window

[LA-Don]

I figured it’s about time to start this. I think there’s a very good chance that come January we’re bottom six and lost a cup semi. I’m expecting McKenna to be sold plus I do see both Shinnie and GMS moving on, possibly Shinnie doing a McLean returning on loan but I see GMS moving if we can get some cash. With Ross, Wright, McGinn, and McLelland, DM will see us as having ample cover.

 

Wouldn’t be surprised to see Gleeson and or Forrester punted too, those two haven’t worked out. Tough to argue otherwise. Tansey too. Honestly, the squad needs an overhaul, happy to see the young boys given a run and save any money from exports in January for transfers in the summer.

 

Think we’re also due an offer or two for Joe Lewis. Wouldn’t be surprised to see that in the winter window.

 

Sad to say that i’m writing this season off, shame since Devlin is an excellent signing, what I wouldn’t have given for a player like him over the last few years. Would be happy to see the manager go too, things are stale and we’re going in the wrong direction both in performance and league position. Yesterday, with Wilson stuck in the Rooney wide left role, emphasized that we need fresh ideas and someone with a different set of contacts in the transfer market. DM, it was good while it lasted, but we’re going nowhere fast by the looks of things.

[Ten Caat]

Everyone seems to give Shinnie an easy ride on here (and other forums) and there can be no question of his obvious committment to the club. No sign of him signing a new contract as yet and it might be he is thinking of a new challenge. But he has definitely not been the Shinnie of old this season and in 2 or 3 games, including yesterday, been utter shite. His performances the past 4 seasons showed he could certainly do a job in the English Championship but on this season's showings so far he aint going to get an offer from there. A League 1 side could easily match and probably beat any pay offer that we could put on the table so unless he ups his game it's going to come down to a similar scenario that big Gash found himself in 18 months ago....sign on again with us and play at a higher level or go to a MK Dons or similar and earn £3-5K per week more but play at a shyte level.

 

GMS i think will stay eventually. Logan....hmmm. Hasn't been great (to put it mildly) for over a season now. i think we need an upgrade asap. Will see the season out but expect to see him sign a pre contract with a club in the Manchester vicinity....Bury or the the likes.

 

Forrester I can see getting punted in January probably writing off the fee that we paid. Gleeson I think will stay till at least the summer. I don't think he is up to much but will be useful covering for injuries and is certainly good enough to start in games against the bottom 4 or 5 if required. He will get frustrated at his limited game time and will probably leave in the summer.

[rocket_scientist]

But he has definitely not been the Shinnie of old this season and in 2 or 3 games, including yesterday, been utter shite.

 

He was shite yesterday but it's not just this season. He was totally ineffective for the vast majority of games in the last couple of months of last season. The last game of the season was an exception but let's face it, they didn't want to win, were happy for us to overtake the new club at the other side of the city and had nothing to play for.

 

Shinnie is yet another example of a potentially very good footballer who has been allowed to go backwards under the charlatan that is McInnes.

[KennyFuckinPowers]

He appears to be a game of two halves of late, if that makes sense. He often is invisisble one half, then more like himself in the other. Yesterday was a prime example, in the 1st half, he was literally anonymous, Ball, for as gash as he was also, could have been mistaken for our captain in the sense that he was furious with himself and his teammates and was showing it, whereas Shinnie was too busy taking the huff at the ref's decision making.

 

2nd half though, he was much better, he was getting stuck in, driving with the ball and more vocal and noticeable, that's what I would expect of a captain.

 

Absolutely agree with Rocket here, it's another example of the manager failing a player. Shinnie is clearly a talent, but we need a consistent 90 minutes from him each week, otherwise he should not be exempt from criticism, even the Hibs cup game more recently, he was largely anonymous for the 90 minutes, but in extra time he was brilliant. Really hoping he does sign a new contract, but wouldn't be surprised if he left for England, I am sure there will be suitors.

 

 

[BobbyBiscuit]

Shinnie and Ball being our current first choice centre midfield pairing is a huge part of our problems.

 

Shinnie plays centre midfield like a left back. As a left back, everything is in front of you and that's exactly how Shinnie plays centre mid, but in the centre of the park you have to know when to put your foot on the ball and hold the play, which he pretty much never does.

 

That wouldn't be too much of an issue if there was a better footballer beside him, but Ball, for all that he's ok, is just ok and that's all he's ever going to be.

 

The quality in the centre of the pitch is hugely lacking. Ferguson is going to be a great player I think, but he's young and he needs time and will need a rest from time to time.

 

When you look at the centre forward being Cosgrove, added to that centre midfield pairing, does anyone really think that is remotely good enough?

 

McInnes, after the Scottish Cup Semi Final last season admitted his transfer dealings for that season hadn't been good enough.  A brave thing for a manager to publicly admit. But he was correct.  I would have hoped that would have spurred him on to better this summer; Gleeson and Forester have been pretty awful, Hobban injured - not much the manager can do about that, but the player's injury history should tell us it wasn't a surprise - Ball, a player who wasn't even getting off the bench (or on it) for a huge part of last season was brought back in and is now a starter.

 

Ferguson and Devlin have proven to be good signings and I'm sure they will continue to do so.  But on the whole, the recruitment has been tipping on the poor side too much in the past two years and when you're bringing in poorer players there's only one way the side is going.  I don't trust McInnes with a transfer budget now, particularly given that he's signed players for cash who have been utterly root. 

 

[LA-Don]

Agree with Bobby, we had glaring squad deficiencies in central defense, central mid, and center forward, the spine and most crucial parts of the team. Only Devlin has been a success, Ferguson was one for the future but plays week in week out rather than a squad player with the occasional start due to the failures of Forrester and Gleason.

 

Would you give DM funds if we sell McKenna in January?

[ayrshire_don74]

wouldnt trust mcinnes with transfer kitty he has a 1 in 4 success rate

[Ten Caat]

Id rather we saved any cash from a McKenna sale till summer. I know we would need a replacement for him but as things stand we are so far behind in the League already that this season is pretty much a write off. We would pay inflated prices in January so I'd rather we either got players on pre-contracts or waited till summer when another rebuild will be necessary anyway (Wilson, Ball definitely gone; Forrester, Gleeson, Logan probably gone; Shinnie, GMS who knows?)

 

I'd have no problem giving him up to £200k or so to get in a back up centre half to Devlin/Consi as cover.

 

 

[LA-Don]

Id rather we saved any cash from a McKenna sale till summer. I know we would need a replacement for him but as things stand we are so far behind in the League already that this season is pretty much a write off. We would pay inflated prices in January so I'd rather we either got players on pre-contracts or waited till summer when another rebuild will be necessary anyway (Wilson, Ball definitely gone; Forrester, Gleeson, Logan probably gone; Shinnie, GMS who knows?)

 

I'd have no problem giving him up to £200k or so to get in a back up centre half to Devlin/Consi as cover.

 

I expect McKenna to go but I wouldn’t give him a penny and would try to force the sale of Gleeson Tansey and Forrester, plus Shinnie and GMS if they don’t sign a contract. We won’t lose all 5 in January but i’d Insist youngsters are given the chance, nothing to lose. We won’t make Europe and won’t get relegated, what do we have to lose.

[manc_don]

I expect McKenna to go but I wouldn’t give him a penny and would try to force the sale of Gleeson Tansey and Forrester, plus Shinnie and GMS if they don’t sign a contract. We won’t lose all 5 in January but i’d Insist youngsters are given the chance, nothing to lose. We won’t make Europe and won’t get relegated, what do we have to lose.

 

Agreed, I wouldn't trust McInnes with a penny.  The transfers he's spent money on , have all been by and large, pish. McLean being the odd one but even then he flattered to deceive for the majority of games.

[Ramperbamper]

wouldnt trust mcinnes with transfer kitty he has a 1 in 4 success rate

 

Going by that logic, is a mainstay of the team for years Rooney or a McLean negated by a Monakana or Parker who were cheap, short term squad filler, and who were papped as soon as it became apparent they were shite?

 

Can't disagree that the transfers where we've spent funds on haven't worked out recently though.

 

[ayrshire_don74]

The initial point is fair if the prime signings are so good that the fillers are indeed fillers, then why sign them at all ?

 

However what appears to be happening is that the 'prime' signings and the fillers are merging so what we appear to have done is sign less quality overall.

 

That being said 1 in 4 is an overall statement, but its probably on a downward trend, 15 players were brought in season 17/18, am struggling to pick anyone else than GMS who signifcantly improved the team that season.. Devlin was recruited but will count him for next season.

 

8 have came in this season again , Ferguson aside( i think he is starting to regress, not his fault) so add Devlin , so in 2 seasons 23 players brought in 3 have 'improved' us .

 

 

Thats isnt good enough

[KennyFuckinPowers]

Social Media Klaxon! Rumours abound that Leeds Utd want both Joe Lewis & Graeme Shinnie. Will try and find out from that Alan Nixon Journo, he's usually on the money with these.

[the real rumpus]

Need to be looking at getting Hayes back on loan or Shankland from Ayr

[Ten Caat]

Need to be looking at getting Hayes back on loan or Shankland from Ayr

 

Not for me. Hayes now 31.....32 next summer and will be on wages that we would struggle to match and would have no residual value. Has hardly played in all his time with the Dhims. It hasn't really worked out too great with the McGinn re-signing and anyway who is to say GMS wont put pen to paper on the new contract he has been offered. If he doesn't then I'd like us to try for Jordan Jones from Killie although there's talk of Aston Villa being interested in him which would blow our chances out the water.

 

Shankland? Difficult one. He was obviously punted for a reason (too fat/didn't link play) but he's lost over a stone. Can't deny his goalscoring record but we are hardly prolific at creating chances for a striker who can't do anything other than put the ball in the back of the net. Don't see DM changing his philosophy any time soon so I thin it would need a change of manager first who would embrace Shankland's qualities and change our set up to accomodate these (and his limitations obviously). However unless a Championship side comes in for McInnes we are stuck with him for this season and at least the first half of next season too. In the interim, unless Ayr go up (I think they'll fall short in the end with County and United just having too much of a financial advantage) I envisage him moving on to a mid table level Premiership team (Killie will probably need to replace Fatty Boyd and would be a good fit for him) or an English Division 1 side who could pay him more than anyone in scotland outside us, the cheeks and the Edinburgh duo.

[Ten Caat]

Social Media Klaxon! Rumours abound that Leeds Utd want both Joe Lewis & Graeme Shinnie. Will try and find out from that Alan Nixon Journo, he's usually on the money with these.

 

Ok had half an hour to spare so looked up a few LUFC fan boards to see if that's where the rumours were surfacing from.

 

Their goalkeeper broke his leg over a week ago, probably out for the season and the fans do not rate the 2 back-ups at all. Supposedly they've asked for dispensation to sign one on an emergency loan....on all the boards I viewed the consensus is they want Tom Heaton in from Burnley with a view to signing him permanently in the January window. Not one mention of signing Lewis at all.

 

As for Shinnie, well the consensus amongst their fans is they urgently require 2 central defenders and 2 wingers/wing backs more than anything else. They've got 8 defensive/central midfielders on their books and are more looking to shift one or two out rather than sign any more. And again no mention of Shinnie anywhere.

 

Are their agents just "testing the waters" or is it just total bullshit??

 

 

[Northstar]

Let's hope we can move out some of the dross have my doubts though,we need to up the wages

And quality should improve , there is 5/6 picking up dough @ offering nothing in no particular order

Gleason

Forrester

Tansey

Reynolds injured

Hoban injured

Cosgrove

Wilson

 

That must be around 25k /30k per week there , sure we could find a decent centre forward @ centre mid for that?

 

Think McKenna will be gone Jan or defo summer.

 

 

[KennyFuckinPowers]

Ok had half an hour to spare so looked up a few LUFC fan boards to see if that's where the rumours were surfacing from.

 

Their goalkeeper broke his leg over a week ago, probably out for the season and the fans do not rate the 2 back-ups at all. Supposedly they've asked for dispensation to sign one on an emergency loan....on all the boards I viewed the consensus is they want Tom Heaton in from Burnley with a view to signing him permanently in the January window. Not one mention of signing Lewis at all.

 

As for Shinnie, well the consensus amongst their fans is they urgently require 2 central defenders and 2 wingers/wing backs more than anything else. They've got 8 defensive/central midfielders on their books and are more looking to shift one or two out rather than sign any more. And again no mention of Shinnie anywhere.

 

Are their agents just "testing the waters" or is it just total bullshit??

 

I saw it on Twitter TC, the guy I mentioned about asking is 9/10 on the ball with this stuff, so I'll get onto it and see if he replies. We have offered Shinnie & GMS a new contract as well, not sure if anyone has posted about that on here, so that'll be interesting to see if that pans out. 

[KennyFuckinPowers]

Let's hope we can move out some of the dross have my doubts though,we need to up the wages

And quality should improve , there is 5/6 picking up dough @ offering nothing in no particular order

Gleason

Forrester

Tansey

Reynolds injured

Hoban injured

Cosgrove

Wilson

 

That must be around 25k /30k per week there , sure we could find a decent centre forward @ centre mid for that?

 

Think McKenna will be gone Jan or defo summer.

 

Probably in a minority here, but I would keep Cosgrove ahead of Stevie May every day of the week. May has had more than enough opportunities, sound like a broken record but I am stating fact, he's useless and a half decent showing against Hibs won't change that. Cosgrove is absolutely raw, but that can be worked on, he's certainly not the short term answer, James Wilson was meant to be that, and that sadly looks like a fuck up. Get Cosgrove out on loan where he'll play week in week out and cut our losses with Stevie May.

 

Feel it's a bit harsh on Hoban, he looked decent enough before his injury, if we can get the 2nd half of the season out of him, then it'll be worth it. Reynolds, well it feels like he doesn't play for us anymore anyway, would he be a useful back up? Or is Considine the new Reynolds in that regard?

 

Gleeson & Forrester, well something clearly not right there, what I will say on Gleeson is, he didn't do much wrong when he played ( Poor pass back against St Mirren aside ) and overall looked tidy enough. I think Shinnie has been pretty poor the majority of the season, with the odd game reminding us he's still an asset, you would think that would allow more opportunities for Gleeson, but he's not even getting off the bench. Forrester, well fucked if I know what the situation is there, a bizarre set of circumstances, we paid money for him, he was likened to Michael Carrick, McInnes said he's been aware of him for some time and he really liked him, yet, he's been a ghost, not even making the bench now and been left out the last couple of reserve teams after playing for them for several weeks, perplexing.

 

I feel Tansey will be given another opportunity " like a new signing " comes to mind there.

 

 

[Northstar]

Time will tell going to be an important 9 months for the club.

 

Rumours on reasons why some of the boys are not performing,but suppose

That’s goes with the territory..

 

 

[BobbyBiscuit]

Time will tell going to be an important 9 months for the club.

 

Rumours on reasons why some of the boys are not performing,but suppose

That’s goes with the territory..

 

Is the rumour that some of them are just shite?  I can confirm, if so.

[A llad insane]

Not sure if getting Hayes back would work, i.m.o McGinn's return has been a damp squib.

Regarding Shankland, please god no , i think the loon has probably found his level , unless of course he has improved 100%, looked slow & fat and he snatched at everything.

 

  We have to be looking at getting 2 strikers in,in January, to have any hope of finishing top 4. Would be happy to see Lowe remain here & hopefully get Hoban back soon (not holding my breath), must be a fair chance McKenna will be gone in Jan. & i  can see Shinnie going down South too, even though his form hasnt been great past few months, stll think we would miss him, we are weak in midfield & rubbish up top, very concerning

[Northstar]

Is the rumour that some of them are just shite?  I can confirm, if so.

 

 

Lol not wrong there, it was more like bevy @ bookies...

[KennyFuckinPowers]

The Journalist replied to my question, Said that the Lewis thing " Maybe true " but would be " shocked " about the Shinnie one. Not really anything to go with there really, hope it is shite.

[Ten Caat]

If he is right then I'm gutted it's Joe that they are interested in rather than Shinnie. Of the 2, Joe would be the far more difficult to replace (to a similar standard). However he is under contract so we could demand a decent wedge if it were to develop.....£3 million as a basis for negotiation or no deal.